Notable Authors, both past and present, who have called the Pittsburgh area home: Nellie Bly

“Ten Days in a Mad-House” – Nellie Bly

Born in Pittsburgh in 1864 and later transplanted to New York City, Bly began her writing covering working conditions for women in local mills but was later assigned to style, theater and arts stories for the leading Pittsburgh newspaper of the time, The Pittsburgh Dispatch. Unfulfilled by the superficial stories she was made to write, Bly left Pittsburgh for New York and won acclaim for her investigation into women’s mental-health institutions. Her reporting was later turned into the book “Ten Days in a Mad-House,” and led to numerous reforms and better funding for mental-health institutions. Hard to find and a little bit obscure, getting Bly’s book from an online retailer is your best chance to get your hands on this haunting piece. It is a worthwhile read and was a springboard for other female investigative writers.